Beyond the camera: Why Georgia needs to champion documentary filmmaking | Part 2

Morgan Chen

Editor’s note: This is Part 2 of a two-part series. Part 1 looked at the state of the documentary industry and the power of documentary to bring communities together. Read Part 1 here.

Georgia has invested significantly in its film and entertainment industry. The state has developed production infrastructure, educational programs, studio facilities, a workforce and an established ecosystem for narrative film and television.

The Georgia film industry conversation frequently includes studio production, education, tax incentives, live performances and the economic impact of entertainment production.

But I believe documentary filmmaking deserves a much more prominent place in that conversation.

Georgia should be asking what it can do to encourage independent documentary filmmakers, develop documentary projects, connect emerging filmmakers with experienced professionals and create more opportunities for documentary films to reach audiences.

A production incentive alone does not create a sustainable documentary ecosystem. We also need development funding, grants, mentorship, film labs, distribution support, screening opportunities and relationships with educational and nonprofit institutions.

We need to encourage collaboration between cinematographers, editors, directors, producers, writers, actors and community organizations.

We should create opportunities for filmmakers to meet people who have compelling stories and the desire to share them.

We should also encourage local businesses, foundations, universities, chambers of commerce, municipalities and cultural institutions to invest in documentary storytelling.

That investment can take many forms beyond financing a film, including providing access, sharing expertise, sponsoring screenings, supporting educational distribution or helping connect a documentary with the communities it serves.

There is an economic development opportunity here, too. Documentary projects create work for local production professionals, develop creative talent, attract visitors through festivals and screenings, and preserve the stories that give communities their identity.

Georgia already has the filmmakers, subjects and stories worth documenting. The question is whether the state will do more to support the people who are willing to tell them.

Two Georgia stories I am working to bring to the screen

Through Morgan Chen Productions, I am developing two documentary projects that reflect the kinds of stories I believe deserve attention.

‘The Penal Metamorphosis’: the courage to rebuild a life

The first project, “The Penal Metamorphosis,” is a documentary examining the extraordinary lives of formerly incarcerated individuals and how they choose to build a future for themselves and others in their communities.

The film explores the power, courage and methods of personal transformation, alongside the lasting consequences of Georgia’s criminal justice system.

I want to examine the complexity of their lives beyond their convictions or their time behind bars: the decisions that brought them into the system, the experiences that changed them, the obstacles they face after release and the work required to rebuild relationships, find employment and contribute to society.

What does it take to change? What does redemption look like in practice? How does someone prove that they are capable of becoming something different from the person they once were? And what responsibility does a community have in allowing people the opportunity to rebuild?

These are not easy questions, and I do not believe they should be answered through simplistic narratives. I want to explore the people, programs and experiences involved in re-entry, including the work of organizations such as Warrior’s Den and All In All Out Ministry.

The goal is to create opportunities for people to encounter these stories, examine their own assumptions and participate in conversations about rehabilitation, accountability, public safety and the possibility of transformation.

A second documentary: the human cost of the battery industry

I am also in preproduction on a second documentary examining working conditions and potential long-term occupational health risks inside battery manufacturing facilities.

Georgia is attracting major investment in electric vehicle and battery manufacturing. These facilities are important to the state’s economic development, industrial growth and workforce expansion.

But economic development should also invite questions about the people working inside these industries.

My investigation will examine concerns about workplace exposure, employee protections, staffing arrangements and the information provided to workers about potential occupational health risks.

I am particularly interested in allegations that staffing agencies have been informed of studies concerning potential short- and long-term health effects, including reproductive and respiratory risks, and that some workers may be asked to sign documents acknowledging those risks and accepting employment under particular legal conditions.

These claims require careful investigation, documentary evidence and the opportunity for companies, staffing agencies, workers and relevant experts to respond.

The film will examine what workers are told, what scientific evidence exists, what protections are available and how responsibility is shared among manufacturers, staffing agencies and regulators.

This subject is personal to me because my wife is one of the engineers working inside this industry.

I believe it is possible to recognize the economic importance of manufacturing while also asking difficult questions about employee safety and long-term well-being. Economic growth and worker protection should not be treated as opposing objectives.

The people who build the industries of tomorrow deserve to have their experiences and concerns heard today.

If this documentary contributes to better information, stronger protections and more informed decisions for future workers, it will have served an important purpose.

A reason to make films and a reason to support them

Socrates famously said:

“The unexamined life is not worth living.”

Documentary filmmaking is, in many ways, an invitation to examine our lives.

We should celebrate the people around us who are working to improve their lives and communities. We should document their efforts, their failures, their discoveries, their disappointments and their determination to make things better. I believe documentary filmmakers have an important role in that work. By trying to raise our own consciousness and that of others, we are attempting something honorable and useful.

We should invest in the filmmakers who are willing to ask uncomfortable questions, explore remarkable lives and tell stories that might otherwise go unheard.

We should build the institutions, relationships and distribution opportunities that allow those stories to reach the people who need to see them. And we should remember that the value of a film cannot always be measured by its box office, streaming numbers or awards.

Sometimes its value is measured by a conversation that would not have happened otherwise. A person who changes their mind. A community that recognizes a problem. A worker who understands their rights. A formerly incarcerated individual who sees a possibility for the future. A young filmmaker who decides to pick up a camera and tell a story of their own.

Documentary filmmaking gives us an opportunity to look honestly at life as it is and to recognize the people working to make it better.

That is worth supporting. That is worth preserving. And that is worth championing in Georgia.